Draining winterbreak in Domino City
Snow was falling down over the famous place known as Domino City. Many areas were decorated with reeves, lights and a few Christmas trees. And speaking of Christmas, most of the students left the Duel Academy to spend the winter break with their families. Andrew was one of those students. For the moment, he was in the house where his family lives. It was a two-story building with white walls and a black roof. It also had a stone walkway leading through the yard up to the porch. (Even though it was hardly visible because of the snow.)
Andrew's mother was in the kitchen, preparing for dinner. She was wearing a light-blue dress split at her legs and an apron over it. She glanced at the turkey inside the oven. "It won't be long now." She said delighted. After that, she went inside the living room. "How is it going with the decorations boys?" The mother asked as she saw her husband and son decorating the living room.
The father was wearing a green sweater and a pair of red pants, and for the moment, he was hanging up stars at the windows. Andrew was wearing a dark-blue shirt and a pair of jeans. What he was doing, was decorating the christmas tree at the corner of the room. The living room had a big couch, a small table with santa claus figures on it, a broad TV and a bookshelf.
"Everything's fine over here, Marie." The father replied.
"All that's left for me, is the star." Andrew said, as he was about to place a nice-looking star on the top of tree. It was a silver star with some red gem-like decorations on it.
"Splendid~!" The mother now named Marie said.
Andrew delicately placed the star on the tree. "There. Now to light it up." He connected the cord to the outlet and the tree lit up brilliantly.
"Oh, it's beautiful, isn't it George?"
"Yeah, it is." The father now named George agreed.
"So, what now?" Andrew asked his parents.
"Well, the turkey should be ready about 2 hours or so, but there are still some other dishes that I need to prepare." Marie answered.
"May I help you with that?" Andrew offered.
"That would be sweet of you. Come on." Andrew followed his mom to the kitchen and started to make the other dishes. For example, cranberry sauce. While they were cooking, Marie asked him, "So Andrew, how was your time at the academy? Did you make some friends?"
"Yeah, a bunch of them." He replied.
"Then would you like to tell me about them?"
Andrew nodded and began telling her about the different things that happened so far. From when he met his friends and dueled a few of them, to when Jaden and Syrus had their elimination match and when the Halloween Festival occurred. He never gave her some stories about the more dangerous events, like when he faced Kang in a shadow duel in the abandoned dorm or saved the students who were kidnapped by Panik the Player Killer. He knew that something like that would make his parents worried. His father was able to listen the whole thing, even though he was relaxing in the living room.
"Sounds like your time at the academy had been exciting so far." Marie commented.
"It sure was."
"So, can you tell me more about this Jenny you mentioned earlier?"
Andrew blinked, but decided to tell her. "Well, like I said, she's a very strong duelist. And she's also cheerful, athletic, sweet and um…" While Andrew was wondering what to say, he couldn't help but blush a little.
"Oh. Is it possible that you two are a couple?" George commented as he entered the kitchen, having a grin on his face.
"W-what!? What makes you say that?" He stuttered as his blush darkened a little. "We're just friends."
"Is that really true?" Marie asked teasingly. "Because your blush is saying otherwise."
Andrew's face was now red as a tomato. "Knock it off!"
The parents chuckled at his embarrassment.
"Sorry dear. Anyway, we should continue with the dishes, even some frui…" Marie stopped at mid sentence as she formed an expression of realization on her face.
"Hm? What's wrong?" George asked.
The mother placed a hand on her mouth and gasped. "My goodness! I forgot to buy some fruit."
"What? Really?" Andrew asked.
"And I was planning to make a fruit salad." She sighed disappointed.
Andrew thought for a moment before giving her a suggestion. "Then how about I head out and buy some fruit?"
The parents were a little surprised at that.
"Would you really do that?"
"Yes, of course. Because what's a dinner without dessert? And no one makes a fruit salad as tasty as yours." Andrew said smiling.
Marie couldn't help but smile back at her son's compliment. "Thanks Andrew. Okay, I'll let you go. Let me write down the fruits you need to buy." She took a piece of paper and wrote down what was needed and gave it to Andrew.
"Alright. I'm heading out then." He said as he left.
Andrew was walking around the neighborhood. He was wearing a dark-blue winter jacket, gray hat, black gloves and boots.
"It's really snowy today." He said to himself. "Even more than on Academy Island."
"Indeed." Phantom Magician replied, as the duel spirt appeared beside him. "Even though it gets colder there, it's hardly any snow there."
"And to think that Jaden, Syrus and Chumley decided to stay there during the holiday. Not many students would do that. I hope they don't get too bored.
"ACHOO!"
Jaden sneezed hard as he was hanging out with his roommates in the Slifer red dorm's cafeteria, back at the academy.
"You alright, Jaden?" Syrus asked.
"Yeah, I think so." He replied as he sniffed a bit, scratching his nose.
"Well anyone would sneeze because of winter." Chumley said.
"Yes, but it might be another reason." Someone spoke up. The trio turned to see professor Banner who just entered the cafeteria. "It is said that if you talk about someone, then that person will sneeze."
Jaden laughed at this. "Yeah right. That's just a myth."
If only he knew how wrong he was.
Back to Andrew
"Oh well, I'm sure it's not too bad."
Phantom Magician suddenly halted. "Partner, something's going on."
Andrew turned to him. "What? What do you mean?"
As if to answer his question...
"Stop that! Give it back!"
"Those are our cards!"
Andrew looked forward and saw three people in front of him. One of them was a boy with shoulder length dark-brown hair and eyes, wearing a black winter jacket and gloves and appears to be around the same age as Andrew. He seemed to be holding up two cards in his right hand. The other two were two younger boys, probably 7-8 years old. One of them was wearing a green jacket, hat and gloves. He had black hair and gray eyes. The other one had light-brown hair and light-blue eyes. He was wearing a purple jacket, hat and gray gloves. The two younger boys jumped up in attempt to get the cards the older guy was holding. But he just kept those cards away from them.
"What's the matter? Can't you boys reach them?" The bully asked mockingly.
"Come on, give them back!" The boy wearing the green jacket said.
"Give our cards back!" The boy wearing the purple jacket added.
Andrew gave the bully an angry look and walked over to the group. "Hey!"
The boys stopped what they were doing and turned to him. The bully scoffed. "What do you want?"
"From starters, I want you to give those cards back to those kids. Second, stop bullying them."
The bully sneered. "No way, loser. These cards are mine."
"As if. Those cards belongs to them. Cards are a duelist's soul, a part of themselves. You have no right to take the cards away from them!"
"Heh. Spare me your philosophical crap. For me, cards are just meant to be used by worthy duelists. And those brats doesn't deserve these cards." The bully rambled arrogantly.
"If you are as worthy as you think you are, then how about you prove it and duel me?" Andrew challenged.
The bully raised an eyebrow. "Are you challenging me? Who do you think you are?"
"My name is Andrew Wilson. Ra Yellow student from Duel Academy."
The two small boys gasped at the words 'Duel Academy'. The bully widened his eyes for a moment before smirking.
"Duel Academy, eh? And you're one of it's students you say. I always wondered if those students from the academy are really skilled. Very well. I accept your challenge. Although, I would like to make our duel more challenging."
Now it was Andrew's turn to raise one of his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"You'll see. Just follow me." The bully gestured as he started to walk away.
Andrew hesitated at first, but decided to follow him. And so did the kids.
Andrew and the two small boys followed the bully through the city until they reached the destination. They were standing right in front of the entrance of a building. It had a sign above the entrance with the picture of a Red-Eyes Black Dragon facing a Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"Welcome to Legendary Dragons." The bully introduced. "One of Domino City's newest card shops."
The other boys, including Andrew, stared at the sign with awe, before the latter asked him.
"And we're going to duel each other here?"
"That's right. You see, this place is preparing a little tournament and I thought you and I could have some fun by beating down other players, before we settle this in the final duel."
"And how are you certain that you can make it to the final?"
The bully smirked. "Please, there's no way I would lose to anyone around here. You should worry about yourself. After all, if you lose even once before getting the chance to face me, then you can forget about these cards." He said as he held the cards he took from the kids. "So, are you in or not?"
Andrew glanced at the two younger boys who gave him a concerned look before he looked at the bully. "Alright, I'm in."
"Then let's go." The group entered the shop. The inside was quite impressive. There were some shelves with booster packs and starter decks on the bottom floor, and there were stairs leading to the second floor, where you could find even more cards.
They went to the counter at the end of the hall, were a woman with short brown hair, wearing a light-blue shirt was sitting behind. She looked up to the boys approaching her.
"Can I help you?" She asked politely.
The bully smirked and wrapped an arm around Andrew's neck, to his annoyance. "Well me and my friend here would like to register for the card shop tournament." Andrew freed himself from his grip.
The counter girl nodded. "Yes, of course." She took up two paper forms and placed them on the desk. "Just fill these forms, please." The two boys did what she asked them. They wrote down their names, their ages, stuff like that. After that, they handed the forms to the lady who nodded. "Good, now you may enter." She said, as she pointed towards the door behind her.
Andrew glanced at the two younger boys before turning to her. "Is it okay for these two to watch the tournament?"
The woman gave him a smile. "Yes, of course."
The two younger said thank you before heading inside, along with Andrew and the bully. They looked around and saw how big the hall was. There was a bunch of people sitting at tables and playing Duel Monsters, using game mat's instead of duel disks.
"Whoa, this place is big." The boy with the purple jacket said.
"And there are so many duelists in here." The boy with the green jacket added.
The bully turned to Andrew, giving hims cocky grin. "Well then, Andrew, let's see if you have what it takes to beat the best."
The hero duelist raided an eyebrow. "You're making it sound like you are a champion or something. You better not get cocky."
The bully widened his grin. "As a matter of fact, I became the champion of last year's card shop tournament."
Andrew and the kids were surprised by this.
"Hehe. You better not lose before you face me. Otherwise, you can forget about our deal. Well, smell ya later." He then went over to a corner to hang up his jacket.
"Geez, what a jerk." Andrew muttered. He then felt someone tugging him at his right sleeve. He looked down and saw it was the boy with purple jacket.
"Hey, Andrew. Are you really going through with this? What if you lose?"
Andrew kneeled down and looked at him with a reassuring look on his face. "Don't worry, I won't lose. I understand if that guy is tough, but I won my fair share of duels. So you two can count on me to get back the cards he stole from you."
The two boys glanced at each other for a moment before smiling at him. "Thank you, Andrew." The boy with the green jacket said.
"No problem. Oh, by the way, you never told me your names."
"I'm Erik." The boy with the green jacket said.
"And I'm Tom." The boy with the purple jacket added.
"Well then, Erik, Tom. Wish me luck." Andrew stood up and walked away to prepare himself. 'Sorry mom. But your fruit salad will have to wait.'
Meanwhile, the parents were still doing their stuff back home. George was relaxing in the living room. Marie was still working on the dishes. As she was cooking, she glanced at the clock on the wall, and apparently, it has been 30 minutes since Andrew left.
"I wonder why Andrew is taking so long?" She said.
"I'm sure everything is fine." George said, still sitting on the coach. "He should be able to get the fruit."
Marie stared at the clock before focusing on the dishes again. "I guess you're right." She let a small smile form on her face, deciding she shouldn't worry about Andrew.
Back to the card shop
Andrew have been working quite hard. After one of the card shop workers, acting as the judge, explained the rules of the tournament, the participants started the duels. Each contestant took their seat at the tables and dueled each other. Those who Andrew dueled were pretty tough, but he managed to defeat them, one after another. Eventually, he managed to get to the final round. The judge walked up to table in the middle of the hall, were the finalists were supposed to take their seats.
"And now it's time for the final duel! Now introducing, Andrew Wilson!" The named Academy student walked up to the table. "And his opponent, the last year's champion, Masayuki Yuda!" The opponent walked up to the opposite side of the table. And it turned out the person named Masayuki was the bully Andrew was supposed to deal with. Now when he wasn't wearing his winter clothes, he was wearing a black shirt and blue jeans. "Duelists, shuffle your opponent's deck." Both duelists took out their decks from their deck holders and gave them to each other. The other people gathered around the table. Erik and Tom were standing right behind Andrew.
As they were shuffling the decks, Masayuki couldn't help but smirk. "So you managed to make it to the final, eh? Then this might be fun."
Andrew scowled. "Just don't forget to hand over…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know! I will hand over the cards I took from the brats… if you defeat me of course." That said, they both gave back each other's decks and took their seats.
"Are you ready?" The judge asked, making both players nod their. "Then let the final duel… begin!"
Andrew and Masayuki drew their opening hands.
Andrew: 4000
Masayuki: 4000
"I hope you're ready… to lose." Masayuki said as he drew his sixth card. "First I summon Goblin Attack Force in attack mode." He placed a monster card on the table. It had a picture of a group of green goblins, wearing purple shirts with tan leather armor and holding metal clubs. (ATK: 2300 DEF: 0 LV: 4) "Then I'll end my turn with a facedown card." He placed the card right behind the goblin card.
"My turn then." Andrew drew a card and placed a certain spell card on the table. "I play the spell card Polymerization. And I'll use it to fuse Elemental HERO Knospe and Elemental HERO Avian." He took the named monster from his hand and placed them on the spot for the graveyard. He then went through his fusion deck and took the fusion monster he was looking for. "And in their place, I summon Elemental HERO Gaia." He placed the fusion monster card on the table, showing everyone watching this the picture of the black armored giant. (ATK: 2200 DEF: 2600 LV: 6)
Masayuki scoffed. "That card is 100 points short."
"That's true, but Gaia has a special ability. When he's fusion summoned he absorbs half of your monster's attack points."
The audience were amazed of what Andrew said, that is until Masayuki smirked and placed his right hand on his facedown card.
"Too bad, but I'm afraid you won't be able to use it, thanks to my trap card." He flipped it up to reveal a trap card with the picture of Dark Ruler Ha Des, who was getting weaker by some kind of aura. "It's called Skill Drain and it works like this; first I must pay 1000 life points in order to activate it…"
Masayuki: 4000-3000
"Then, as long as this card remains on the field, the special abilities of all monsters on the field are negated."
Everyone watching this had different reactions. Some of them gasped by surprise, while others where grimacing, like they've been in this situation before.
Andrew wasn't so pleased either. "But then, my Gaia won't get any extra points."
The bully gave him a smug look. "That's the whole point, loser. Now make your move."
Andrew grunted, before he placed a card behind Gaia. "I play a facedown and end my turn."
"Back to me then." Masayuki looked at the card he drew and smirked. "I summon Chainsaw Insect." The monster card he placed on the table had the picture of a giant beetle with chainsaws for mandibles. (ATK: 2400DEF: 0 LV: 4) Erik couldn't help but gasp at this.
"Chainsaw Insect? That's my card!"
Andrew glanced at him for a second before giving Masayuki a glare. "Did you add his card to your deck?"
"So what if I did? All that matters to me is to be the best, and for that, I need the best cards I can find." Those words caused some people of the audience to whisper to each other.
"What a jerk."
"I can't believe he would do something like that."
"He should be disqualified for that."
If Masayuki heard them, he just ignored them as he made his move. "For starters, I attack your Gaia with Goblin Attack Force." Andrew sighed as he placed his Gaia card on the graveyard.
Andrew: 4000-3900
"And then I'll…"
"Stop right there." Andrew interrupted as he revealed his facedown card. "I play the trap card Hero Signal. Since my monster was destroyed, I get to summon a level 4 or lower Elemental HERO from my hand or deck." While explaining, he searched through his deck to find the monster he wanted to summon. After a couple of seconds, he found it. "And I choose Elemental HERO Shadow Mist." He placed the monster card sideways, with the picture of the black armored female face up. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1500 LV: 4)
"Hmph. Fine, I'll attack that weakling instead."
Andrew smiled as he placed his monster on the graveyard. "Now I can use Shadow Mist's special ability. Since she was sent to the graveyard, I can take a HERO monster from my deck and add it to my hand. I choose Elemental HERO Ice Edge." He took the named from his deck and placed it on the table before shuffling his deck. Once he was done, he placed the card in his hand.
"You'll need more than that to defeat me." Masayuki commented arrogantly. "After all, I have the advantage here. You see, under normal circumstances, I must switch Goblin Attack Force to defense mode after it attacked, and you draw a card from your deck when Chainsaw Insect attacked or is attacked. But that won't be the case, thanks to my Skill Drain."
'So his deck is filled with powerful monsters, whose effects are considered weaknesses. And he can negate those effects with his trap card, not to mention the special abilities of my monsters are negated as well.'
"I place a card facedown and end my turn." Masayuki placed a facedown card behind Chainsaw insect.
"My turn." Andrew drew a card. "First I activate the spell card Pot of Greed. So now I get to draw two cards. And one of them is King of the Swamp." He revealed a monster card with the picture of a slimy head and pair of equally slimy hands coming out of a swampy lake. "By discarding this monster from my hand, I can add a Polymerization from my deck to my hand." Andrew took out his second Polymerization card from his deck and shuffled. "And then I'll use it to fuse Elemental HERO Ice Edge and Elemental HERO Burstinatrix in order to summon Elemental HERO Absolute Zero." He placed the fusion material monsters on his graveyard and brought the fusion monster card with the picture of the icy armored hero. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 8)
"And with him, I'll attack your Goblin Attack Force." The bully just huffed as he placed the gobbling card on his graveyard.
Masayuki: 3000-2800
"Not bad, but you can't beat me that easily." Masayuki stated as he revealed his facedown card. "Especially since you triggered my Time Machine trap card. Whenever a monster is destroyed in battle, I'm allowed to summon it back to the field. So I resurrect Goblin Attack Force." And once again, he placed the goblin card on the monster card zone. (ATK: 2300 DEF: 0 LV: 4)
"Aww. But Andrew just destroyed it." Tom moaned.
"Come on. He can't lose to that bully." Erik added.
"I end my turn." Andrew concluded.
"Fine by me." Masayuki drew a card and smirked when saw what he got. "I summon Beast King Barbaros." The monster card he placed on the field had the picture of a creature with a black, four legged lower body and a muscular human-like upper half with a lion head. The creature in the picture carried a red lance in one hand and a round, blue shield in the other. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 1200 LV: 8)
Now it was Tom's turn to gasp. "Hey! That's my card!"
And once again, Andrew gave the bully a glare. "So you're using his card as well."
"Give the loser a prize. Of course I'm using it. This card is fitting for a deck of my caliber."
"You better not get attached to it. Because I will get that card and Chainsaw Insect back, after defeating you."
"In your dreams. Now then, normally Barbaros' attack points would become 1900 since I summoned it without a sacrifice. But of course that won't be the case in this situation. And now I'll have my Barbaros attack your Absolute Zero." Masayuki smirked, believing he was about to win. But was surprised to see Andrew form a smirk of his own on his face, while placing the hero card on the graveyard.
Andrew: 3900-3400
"Thank you. You just triggered my monster's special ability."
"What?" He asked.
"When Absolute Zero leaves the field, all monsters on your side of the field are destroyed."
"W-WHAT?!" Masayuki was flabbergasted by this.
The audience on the other hand was amazed.
"Wow. All monsters?"
"That's incredible."
"Talk about a strong special ability."
The bully growled as he removed his monsters from the monster card zone.
"It looks like you're not doing so well right now." Andrew commented.
"Shut your mouth! You were just lucky so far, but that will change. Make your move."
"If you insist." Andrew drew a card. "I summon Elemental HERO Heat." He placed the placed the monster with the picture of the white and red armored hero on the table. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And now I attack you directly with him." Masayuki just growled.
Masayuki: 2800-1200
"Next I activate the spell card Swords of Revealing Light." Andrew placed the spell card on the table. "From now on, you can't attack for 3 turns. That's all for now."
"Fine." Masayuki grunted and drew a card. "I might not be able to attack you, but I can build up my army, starting with Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast." He placed another monster card on the table. The creature in its picture was a red metallic monster, shaped like a dragon with beige underbelly. Instead of legs it had a pair of tracks. It was complete with two cannons level its shoulders and one on each side of its head. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2000 LV: 7) "Just like Barbaros, I can summon this monster without a sacrifice. That would normally cost half of my dragon's original attack and defense points, but you know the drill. I end my turn.
"My move then." Andrew looked at his cards. 'I am safe for now. But I still can't do so much, all because of his trap card. I need to bide my time until I get something.'
"First I'll switch Heat to defense mode." He rotated the card until it's position was sideways. "Then I summon Elemental HERO Flash in defense mode." He placed the card with the picture of the blue and silver clad, electric hero. (ATK: 1100 DEF: 1600 LV: 4) "I end my turn."
"Pathetic." Masayuki said. "I on the other will play Majestic Mech - Ohka in attack mode." The monster card he placed on the table had the picture of a four legged, dog-like creature with. It was made of white and reddish metal. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1400 LV: 6)
"Another monster without needing a sacrifice?" Andrew asked, even though it was obvious to him.
"That's right. And if I didn't have my trap card in play, then this monster would have been destroyed at the end of my turn. Now it's your move."
"Okay, here goes." Andrew looked at the card he got and placed it on the table. "I play a facedown card and end my turn."
"My move then." Masayuki looked at the card he drew and chuckled mentally. 'That loser doesn't know what I have in store for him. I bet that his facedown card is something to destroy my monsters. That won't stop me, especially when I'm about to summon the most powerful monster in my deck.' I end my turn."
And since that was the third turn after Andrew played Swords of Revealing Light, he placed that card on the graveyard. "Here goes." He drew a card. "I play a facedown monster in defense mode and end my turn."
"This doesn't look good for Andrew." Erik said.
"Masayuki's monsters are too strong." Tom added.
"And it's about to get worse." Masayuki replied. "It's my move now. And I'll start by playing Pot of Greed, which means two more cards for me." He smirked when he saw what he got.
'This can't be good.' Andrew thought.
"Now it's time to bring out the big gun. By removing from play a machine-type monster, like Machine Lord Ür…" He revealed a monster card from his hand, with the picture of a red, vaguely humanoid monster. "…and a Beast-Warrior-type monster, like Beast King Barbaros…" He took out the named card from the graveyard and placed it on the side, along with the machine card. "I'm allowed to summon Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür." He took another monster card from his hand and placed it on the table. It had a picture of a monster with the same appearance as the original. Except that this creature had grayish skin. And instead of a red lance and a blue shield, it was wearing an armor made of the body of Machine Lord Ür. The machine monster's arms were attached over its own. (ATK: 3800 DEF: 1200 LV: 8)
The people watching this gasped at the attack strength of the new monster.
"What? 3800 points?"
"That's crazy!"
"This doesn't look good."
Masayuki smirked triumphantly. "Impressive, isn't it. Without Skill Drain, this monster would be unable to deal battle damage."
Andrew grimaced at this.
"And if you think I have forgotten about your facedown card, think again." The bully took a spell card from his hand and placed it on the table. "I'll use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown card."
Andrew was forced to place his facedown card on the graveyard. It was the trap card known as...
"Mirror Force. Too bad you can't use it." Masayuki said mockingly. "And now for the final touch. I equip Barbaros Ür with the spell card Fairy Meteor Crush." He placed the named spell card right behind the powerful monster. "It works like this; when the equipped monster attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference between my monster's attack points and your monster's defense points are dealt to you as damage."
Erik and Tom were really worried right now.
"No way. If Masayuki's monster can do that…" Victor said.
"Then Andrew will take damage, no matter which battle mode his monsters are in." Tom filled in.
"That's right, and I think I'll have Barbaros Ür attack your Heat."
Andrew placed the named card on the graveyard.
Andrew: 3400-0800
"And then I'll attack your flash with Majestic Mech - Ohka." Masayuki was about to make his third attack, but Andrew spoke right after placing the hero card on the graveyard.
"You triggered the Flash's special ability. Since he was destroyed in battle, I can remove him from play, along with 3 other Elemental heroes from my graveyard." After placing the monster card on the side, Andrew picked up Ice Edge, Avian and Burstinatrix from the graveyard and placed them above the Flash card. "And then I can take a normal spell card from my graveyard and add it to my hand. I choose Pot of Greed."
Masayuki scoffed. "Whatever. That won't stop me from attacking your facedown monster with Fusilier Dragon."
Andrew placed the monster card on the graveyard. It had the picture of a certain turtle creature.
"I think you suffered enough for now. It's your move."
"Then here goes." Andrew drew a card. "Once again, I activate Pot of Greed. So I draw two more cards." He looked at the cards he drew and was slightly disappointed. 'None of these can help me out of this situation. I need to take care of his monsters, and fast.'
"I summon Elemental HERO Ocean in attack mode." He placed the monster card with the picture of the aquatic hero on the table. (ATK: 1500 DEF: DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And that's all."
The audience were surprised by this. Even Erik and Tom.
"What? That's all?" Erik asked.
"What can Andrew do with only one monster on the field?" Tom asked.
Masayuki chuckled. "Is that the best you can do? How pathetic. It appears that you're a weak excuse for an Academy student. Now then, let's end this." He declared as he drew a card. "I attack your monster with Barbaros Ür and that's a win."
Andrew smirked. "It's not over yet."
"Huh?" Masayuki raised an eyebrow.
"You forgot about the monster your dragon attacked earlier." Andrew held up a monster card from his graveyard; the one with the turtle picture. "It's Electromagnetic Turtle. If I have this in my graveyard, I can remove it from play. After that, your battle phase is over."
The bully widened his eyes. Everyone was amazed of this.
"Wow. He stopped the battle phase." Erik said.
"That means Andrew can still win this." Tom added.
Masayuki growled. "Can't you just give up already. There's no way you can win."
"Like I said, this isn't over." Andrew repeated. "I won't stop until the duel comes to the end."
"Hmph, fine. I end my turn. There's nothing you can do anyway."
Andrew glanced at his deck. 'Well, that depends on the next card I draw. This is the last chance I have to win.' He placed his hand on his deck, with a determined look on his face. 'This is all or nothing!' He drew a card and paused for a moment. He then looked at the card he and a smile was formed on his face.
Masayuki gave him a glare. "What are you so happy about?"
"I got just what I need to end this duel."
The bully was shocked. "Y-you're bluffing!"
"I'm not bluffing, and I'll prove it with this." Andrew placed a certain spell card on the table. "I activate the spell card Mask Change. With this I can send a HERO monster I have on the field to the graveyard and summon a Masked HERO from my fusion deck with the same attribute as that monster. So I send Elemental HERO Ocean to my graveyard…" He placed the named monster card there and took a card from his fusion deck. "…and in his place I summon Masked HERO Acid." He placed the dark blue armored fusion monster on the table. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 2100 LV: 8)
Masayuki blinked twice before smirking. "Pff, all that talk and you summoned a monster with 2600 attack points? Hate to break it for you, loser, but that's not enough for you to win."
"That's what you think." Andrew replied.
"Huh?"
"With my Masked HERO, I'll attack your Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür."
Everyone in the hall, including Masayuki gasped at this.
"What are you doing Andrew!?" Erik asked.
"If you attack him with your monster, you'll lose."
"Not exactly." Andrew said as he glanced at the two kids before taking a card from his hand. "Because I activate the spell card Battle Fusion."
"What does that do?" The bully asked.
"When my fusion monster attacks or is attacked, I can use this card to increase it's attack points with the same amount as the opposing monster's attack points.
"W-W-WHAAAT!?" The bully screamed in shock.
"Wait, so Andrew's Masked HERO has 2600 attack points and Barbaros Ür has 3800 attack points." Erik said.
"If those points were added together, then that makes…" Tom added.
"6400 attack points." Andrew filled in. "More than enough to wipe out the rest of your life points. You lose Masayuki.
Masayuki: 1200-0000
The judge nodded before raising an arm. "The duel is over and the winner of this tournament is: Andrew Wilson!"
The audience cheered loudly for this outcome.
"He did it!" Erik cheered.
"He defeated Masayuki!" Tom added.
The bully was staring at the table and clenched his fists while growling. "This can't be. How could I Lose?" He then glared at Andrew. "You! How could you defeat me? Tell me!"
Andrew ignored his question and held out his right hand. "Hand over the cards you stole from the kids."
"What?" Masayuki asked, getting even angrier.
"You lost the duel, so give them back as you promised."
"Never!"
Everyone gave the bully angry looks.
"You jerk. You promised to give the cards back."
"Yeah. Hand them over now!"
Masayuki looked around as he kept listening their protests. As he couldn't tolerate this any longer, he forcibly grabbed Beast King Barbaros and Chainsaw Insect, before giving them to Andrew. "This stinks. I'm outta here." He stood up and left the hall.
After the bully left, Andrew gave the cards to the kids. The insect card to Erik and the beast-warrior card to Tom. "Here you go."
"Thanks Andrew." The boys said gratefully.
"Now then, let's give our new champion some applause."
Everyone did as the judge said, and applauded. Andrew waved to everyone while smiling.
Some time later, the three boys came out of the card shop. In the right hand, Andrew was holding a small box filled with Duel Monsters cards. That was the prize for winning the tournament.
"Well, that was exciting." Andrew said. "I'm sure that bully won't bother you guys again."
"Yeah, I hope so." Erik replied.
"Thanks again for helping us." Tom said.
"No problem. Oh, and by the way…" Andrew held up the card box in front the kids. "I want you two to have these."
They were surprised by this.
"What? But why?" Tom asked.
"You're the one who won the tournament." Erik added.
"True, but I'm fine with the cards I already have. I think you guys might have better use for them."
The kids were hesitant.
"It's okay, take them. Consider these cards as an early Christmas gift."
The two younger glanced at each other for a moment. And then, they smiled and turned to Andrew. Victor took the card box.
"Thanks Andrew." They said.
"You're welcome." He said. "Well, it's been fun, but I've got some errands to do."
"It's fine, we need to go home anyway." Tom said.
"I hope we see you again. Bye-bye." The boys ran off, leaving Andrew alone.
"Hehe. I think they might be great duelists someday." He then walked in the opposite direction. "Now to get some fruits…"
George was placing the plates on the table and Marie was about to finish the last dishes, save from the turkey which was about to be done around 20 minutes. The mother glanced at the clock and realized it's been a while since Andrew left.
"Andrew has been gone for over an hour now." She said a little worried.
"It appears so." The father agreed. "I wonder what's…" He stopped at mid sentence when they heard the sound of the door opening.
"I'm home!" A familiar voice called out. The parents left the kitchen to see Andrew taking off his winter clothes, with a paper bag standing at his feet.
"Welcome home, Andrew." Marie greeted.
"Where have you been, son?" George asked. "We were just wondering why you took so long."
"Sorry about that. There were so many people in the store." He lied.
"Well, that's understandable. It's almost Christmas, after all."
"Yeah." Andrew was now wearing his normal clothing. "Oh, here's the fruits." He handed the paper bag to his mom.
"Thanks dear. Now to finish the dinner." She headed back to kitchen.
And so, the feast was complete. There were many varieties of dishes, something like christmas ham, mashed potato, fish, stuff like that.
"And done. Everything looks great." Marie said proudly as she took off the apron.
"It looks so delicious, honey." George complimented.
"I couldn't agree more." Andrew added. "All that's left is our relatives…" Just as those words left his mouth, they heard the doorbell ringing. "Talk about timing." He went to the hall and opened the door, revealing to be the relatives. The first ones to step in were an old couple. The old man was wearing a black coat and gloves. His hair was grayish and he had brown eyes, just like Andrew. The old woman was wearing an orange jacket and red gloves. Just like the old man, she had grayish hair, but her eye-color was purple.
"Ah, Andrew. How are you young man?" The man addressed him.
"I'm fine." Andrew replied. "It's good to see you grandpa and grandma."
"It's good to see you too." The grandma said as she gave him a hug.
Soon after, another couple stepped inside. They looked young, around the same age as Andrew's parents, but slightly older, most likely at their early 40's. The man was wearing a blue jacket and gloves. He had short black hair and the same green eyes like Andrew's mother. The woman was wearing a pink coat and gloves. She had dark-blonde hair and light-blue eyes.
"Uncle Manuel and Aunt Sheilah." Andrew greeted.
"Hey there, Andrew." The man named Manuel greeted back.
"Nice to see you." Sheilah said, giving him a bright smile.
"Same here."
"Yo, what's up cuz?" A female voice greeted from behind the uncle and aunt. It was a girl who was slightly shorter than Andrew. Most likely around 1 year younger than him. She was wearing a red jacket and blue gloves. She had the same eye-color as the aunt. And her hair was as black as the uncle. It was short and most of it was hidden under a red cap with white lining she was wearing.
"Hey there, Angie." Andrew greeted.
"How's my favorite cousin?" She asked with a grin and an attitude that reminded Andrew of a certain Slifer student.
"More like your only cousin." Andrew replied amused, before giving her a high five.
"Oh great, everyone's here." Marie said as she came out of the kitchen. "Now come on in, the dinner is ready."
After everyone took off their winter clothes, they all took their seats and started to enjoy the food.
"Delicious." The grandpa said.
"Yeah, It's just as tasty as last year. As expected of my sister." Manuel complimented.
"You are so sweet." Marie said, appreciating the compliments.
"It's a shame that you won't be here for Christmas." George stated.
"Yeah, but it can't be helped." The grandpa replied. "Because Peter is all alone where he lives, and because of him being so busy with the pro league, he almost never have the time to visit us."
"That's what big bro is. Always busy of being one of the best." Angie said.
"And as much as we want to come with you, it wouldn't be easy. After all, a trip from here to San Diego is very expensive." Marie admitted.
"It should be fine." Andrew said, getting everyone's attention. "I'm sure Peter understand the situation, as long as he knows we wish him a merry christmas." The family smiled and nodded in approval. "I just hope it won't be the same problem with me, when I become a Pro duelist." He said jokingly, making some of the relatives laugh.
"You think you'll be as good as big bro?" Angie asked.
Andrew shrugged. "Maybe. I might be skilled for now, but I still got a lot to learn."
The cousin nodded and gave him a teasing grin as she decided to change subject. "So tell me cuz, is there any pretty academy girl you're interested in?"
Andrew now became red in the face. "W-where did that come from!?"
"I just want to know if you got a love interest."
"No, I don't!"
Angie just kept grinning, but decided to leave it, for now. And so, the family continued with the dinner and enjoyed the evening.
Whoa. Finally done. I really wanted to finish this chapter earlier, but I was, how should we put it... held back. And there were two reasons for that.
1: I had some problems to figure out the plot of this chapter. But luckily for me, pokemonking0924 was generous enough to give me a bunch of chapter ideas I can choose from. Thank you very much.
2: I was also distracted by a fanfic story I found. A Ben10/Fairy Tail Crossover story known as "The Null Fairy". I think that story is interesting. So for you who haven't read it yet, I suggest you should.
Alright, that should be enough. Until next time.
